Claim USinPK - US Attacks Inside Pakistan

Category: News:World News

JUDGED at 0

Owner:

5591, happy

Judge:

38, highlander

created:

2005/07/28

due date:

2010/09/01

The Claim

Between August 15th, 2005 and August 15th, 2010 an official with the U.S. Military or the Whitehouse will make or release an official, public statement to the media claiming that U.S. military ground forces operating inside Pakistan have attacked targets inside Pakistani territory.

It must be evident from the statement that both US military ground forces and the target attacked were located in Pakistan before the attack began, and that the attack took place entirely inside Pakistan. The official making the statement must be at the O-5 pay scale rank or higher (Lieutenant Colonel or Commander) in the military, or deputy secretary or higher in the administration, and the statement cannot be made on condition of anonymity: it must be an official, public statement. The official's own words must satisfy the claim without requiring additional context such as a reporter's question (ie: evasive answers and non-denials cannot be construed to satisfy the claim). The claim cannot be judged true if the statement or the attack itself is subsequently denied, refuted, or called unauthorized by a higher ranking official (within two weeks). The attack must occur in Pakistan proper, and not in an embassy, or in a disputed territory.

It does not matter whether or not the government of Pakistan consents to the attack. It does not matter whether the U.S. military personell are nominally operating under a United Nations or other flag, providing they are under U.S. military control. It does not matter how long after the attack the official public statement is made so long as the statement is made before the claim's deadline.

Background:

United States officials have stated that they believe Osama bin Laden and other militants are operating from Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan. There have been several incidents where U.S. forces have fired across the border, attacked across the border with aircraft, or possibly chased militants across the border. Pakistan has bristled at all of these incursions. The U.S. has demanded that Pakistan's military destroy these militants, and Pakistan claims to have done so. However, Osama bin Laden remains at large, and several recent terrorist attacks have been carried out by Pakistani nationals. The U.S. has expressed frustation that Pakistan has not done enough to destroy the militants inside its territory. Some people have speculated that in the end the U.S. will have to send its own forces into Pakistan to find and destroy any militants that are hiding there. Although Pakistan is nominally a U.S. ally, the U.S. is unpopular in Pakistan, and the government of Pakistan would come under severe domestic criticism were U.S. forces permitted to operate in Pakistani territory.